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Comprehending the Complexity of Countries

The Way Ahead

  • Book
  • © 2022

Overview

Authors:
  1. Hans Kuijper

    1. Rotterdam, The Netherlands

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  • Compares the difference between area/country studies conducted in Europe and the United States

  • Identifies the fundamental problem with area/country studies and its relevance

  • Explores both the scientific and technical feasibility of interdisciplinary and international country studies

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Table of contents (12 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xxvi
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  2. The Enduring Confusion

    • Hans Kuijper
    Pages 1-26

  3. Theories and Models

    • Hans Kuijper
    Pages 27-53

  4. The Concept of Country

    • Hans Kuijper
    Pages 55-88

  5. Cities and Countries

    • Hans Kuijper
    Pages 89-112

  6. Scientific Feasibility of Collaborative Country Studies

    • Hans Kuijper
    Pages 113-168

  7. Countries Consist of Both Spontaneous and Man-Made Systems

    • Hans Kuijper
    Pages 169-184

  8. Technical Feasibility of Collaborative Country Studies

    • Hans Kuijper
    Pages 185-202

  9. Implications for Higher Education: Connect the Dots!

    • Hans Kuijper
    Pages 203-246

  10. Reductionism or Holism?

    • Hans Kuijper
    Pages 247-273

  11. General Conclusions

    • Hans Kuijper
    Pages 275-306

  12. Summary and Suggestion

    • Hans Kuijper
    Pages 307-328

  13. The Main Message

    • Hans Kuijper
    Pages 329-336

  14. Back Matter

    Pages 337-394
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Keywords

About this book

This book argues for computer-aided collaborative country research based on the science of complex and dynamic systems. It provides an in-depth discussion of systems and computer science, concluding that proper understanding of a country is only possible if a genuinely interdisciplinary and truly international approach is taken; one that is based on complexity science and supported by computer science. Country studies should be carefully designed and collaboratively carried out, and a new generation of country students should pay more attention to the fast growing potential of digitized and electronically connected libraries. In this frenzied age of globalization, foreign policy makers may – to the benefit of a better world – profit from the radically new country studies pleaded for in the book. Its author emphasizes that reductionism and holism are not antagonistic but complementary, arguing that parts are always parts of a whole and a whole has always parts.

Authors and Affiliations

  • Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    Hans Kuijper

About the author

Hans Kuijper has a Master’s in Sinology (Hànxué) from Leiden University and in economics from Erasmus University Rotterdam. After three years working at the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research, he joined the Ministry of Economic Affairs, in The Hague, where he became responsible for doing research and reporting on the political, social and economic developments in East Asian countries. Seconded to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he was appointed as Commercial Attaché at the Netherlands Embassy in Singapore, where – besides other pre-occupations – he was involved in the forming of a Dutch consortium that would tender to dig the tunnel for, and perform the construction of, the Metro (MRT). In 1986, he became Trade Representative of The Netherlands in Taiwan, where he learned about the details, and became aware of the complexity, of the so-called Taiwan–China Problem. Retired from Civil Service in 2000, he resumed studying philosophy of the social sciences, becoming increasingly interested in the science of (complex) systems and computer science. He has written a number of critical articles on the academic study of regions and countries. 

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Comprehending the Complexity of Countries

  • Book Subtitle: The Way Ahead

  • Authors: Hans Kuijper

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-4709-3

  • Publisher: Springer Singapore

  • eBook Packages: Social Sciences, Social Sciences (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-981-16-4708-6Published: 19 January 2022

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-981-16-4711-6Published: 20 January 2023

  • eBook ISBN: 978-981-16-4709-3Published: 18 January 2022

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XXVI, 394

  • Number of Illustrations: 4 b/w illustrations

  • Topics: Cultural Geography, Regionalism, Computer Applications, Philosophy of the Social Sciences, Political Science

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